PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anaconda Yadav (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Drew Mcnichol (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yadav comes to the cage accompanied by Shayad. The crowd seem to be enjoying Mcnichol's choice of entrance music: AC/DC - Back in Black. Drew Mcnichol will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Yadav
vs
Mcnichol

202 cm
23
275 lbs
7 - 10 - 0

196 cm
22
240 lbs
8 - 11 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Anaconda Yadav!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Drew Mcnichol!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Yves DeLean and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mcnichol darts in and clinches Yadav up against the cage.
Yadav tries for a takedown. No joy.
A left hand lands to the body for Mcnichol.
Yadav goes for a takedown in the clinch but Mcnichol prevents it.
Mcnichol lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Mcnichol misses with a knee to the head.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Mcnichol.
Yadav is breathing heavily.
Mcnichol throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Yadavs head.
Mcnichol prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anaconda Yadav. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mcnichol cracks Yadav with a nice body shot.
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Mcnichol.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mcnichol putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Yadav in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Yadav managing to block the knees to the body from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Mcnichol throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Yadav blocks it with crossed arms.
Mcnichol tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Yadav avoids it.
Mcnichol throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mcnichol is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Mcnichol with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
A knee to the head by Mcnichol.
Mcnichol lands a hook that snaps the head of Yadav backwards.
Mcnichol lands a hook that snaps the head of Yadav backwards.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Mcnichol obliges.
Mcnichol lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Yadav or not.
Mcnichol is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A hook to the body from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol lands a nice knee to the body.
Mcnichol unloads a knee to the mid-section. Yadav lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Yadav takes an elbow to the forehead.
Mcnichol lands a nice knee to the body.
Nice elbow from Mcnichol.
A short body shot lands from Mcnichol as the two fighters clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mcnichol unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Mcnichol gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Yadav takes a knee to the side of the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol lands a knee to the body.
Mcnichol scores with a knee to the head.
Mcnichol with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Mcnichol lands an elbow inside that Yadav shrugs off.
Mcnichol landing knees to the head.
Mcnichol lands an elbow just above Yadav 's eye.
Nice body punch from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Yadav is defending well for now.
Mcnichol connects with a nasty looking knee right to Yadav's face.
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Mcnichol misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Yadav.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yadav takes an elbow to the temple.
Mcnichol scores a nice knee to the body.
Mcnichol lands a damaging elbow.
Mcnichol lands a knee to the body.
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Mcnichol using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Mcnichol lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Mcnichol lands with a right to the head.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol scores with a knee to the head.
Yadav can't get the takedown.
Knees to the body from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol lands an elbow inside that Yadav shrugs off.
A short right from Mcnichol.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mcnichol is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Mcnichol is working Yadav over against the cage.
Yadav takes an elbow to the forehead.
Still in the clinch, Mcnichol scores with a nice short uppercut.
Mcnichol pushes Yadav back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Mcnichol.
Mcnichol throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Yadav blocks it with crossed arms.
Mcnichol stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Mcnichol pushes Yadav back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Yadav avoiding damage as Mcnichol throws knees to the body.
A hook to the body from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol lands an elbow that stopped Yadav in his tracks for a moment.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Yadav takes an elbow to the forehead.
Mcnichol scores a nice knee to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mcnichol lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Drew Mcnichol dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mcnichol shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Yadav manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Mcnichol must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Mcnichol scoring with punches to the head and body.
Mcnichol has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Yadav escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Mcnichol gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Mcnichol tries to stand but Yadav is controlling from the bottom.
Yadav tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mcnichol works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mcnichol seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Mcnichol is looking for a kimura here.

Mcnichol is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Yadav looking for submissions off his back.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.

Mcnichol is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Yadav looking for submissions off his back.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mcnichol landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.

Mcnichol seems to be working for a kimura but Yadav defends the submission attempt.

Mcnichol stands up and beckons Yadav to join him on the feet.
Mcnichol changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Yadav tries to avoid it but Mcnichol manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Yadav to the ground. Yadav escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Mcnichol moves into the clinch.
Mcnichol landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Mcnichol tries to land knees in the clinch but Yadav avoids the damage to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcnichol unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Mcnichol using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Yadav has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Mcnichol prevents the takedown attempt.
Mcnichol lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Mcnichol works on Yadav's body with a couple of short punches.
Mcnichol throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Yadav blocks it with crossed arms.
Yadav can't get the takedown.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Mcnichol. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Mcnichol lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Mcnichol goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Mcnichol throws a knee to the head but misses.
Mcnichol misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Yadav.
Mcnichol unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Mcnichol lands a nice elbow.
Yadav on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Mcnichol misses with a punch to the body.
Yadav blocks an uppercut.
Yadav takes an elbow to the forehead.
Mcnichol pushes off an throws an elbow but Yadav leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A right handed body shot lands from Mcnichol.
A body shot lands from Mcnichol.
Mcnichol connects with a nasty looking knee right to Yadav's face.
Mcnichol can't find room to land a body shot as Yadav controls the action.
Yadav blocks an elbow strike.
Mcnichol throws an elbow but it misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mcnichol prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anaconda Yadav. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mcnichol scores with a knee to the head.
Mcnichol connects with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Drew Mcnichol showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Yadav is trying hard to land a takedown here. Mcnichol sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Mcnichol is trying hard to land a takedown here. Yadav sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Yadav fails with a takedown attempt.

Mcnichol drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Yadav gets back to half guard.

Yadav is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Mcnichol pulls his head out easily.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.
Yadav is trying to get back to full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mcnichol seems to be looking for submissions.

Yadav actively working from the bottom here.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Yadav looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Yadav is trying to get back to full guard.
Mcnichol looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

Mcnichol is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Yadav is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Mcnichol's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Mcnichol's back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Yadav misses with a punch to the head.
Mcnichol wriggles onto his back under a barage of strikes.
Mcnichol holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Yadav tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Mcnichol is in a horrible position here. Yadav smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

Yadav swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Mcnichol is now in Yadav's guard. A big mistake from Yadav there, giving up the dominant position!
Mcnichol scoring with some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcnichol with a nice head shot there.

Yadav has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mcnichol can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Mcnichol with a nice head shot there.
Mcnichol postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

Yadav working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mcnichol doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mcnichol manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Mcnichol thows a big elbow that misses.

Mcnichol avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Yadav had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Mcnichol defends it easily.
Drew Mcnichol is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Yadav throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mcnichol advances to half guard.
Mcnichol is keen to just control but Yadav is a slippery customer.

Yadav looking for submissions off his back.

Yadav looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Anaconda Yadav has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Mcnichol gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

And that's the end of the fight!
Drew Mcnichol comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mcnichol has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 26:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 26:30
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Drew Mcnichol!